J. David Creswell and Emily K. Lindsay
Studies have suggested that mindfulness based interventions can lead to a wide variety of improved mental and physical health outcomes, including HIV pathogenesis, depression relapse, inflammation, drug abuse, as some examples, though the reasoning behind such outcomes are not yet well understood. These researchers found that mindfulness-based health effects are mostly likely to be observed in high-stress populations for which stress is known to affect the onset or exacerbation of disease pathogenic processes. In finding such results, they then offer an evidence-based biological model of mindfulness, stress buffering, and health.

Jennifer Lee, PhD, Randye J. Semple, PhD, Dinelia Rosa, PhD, Lisa Miller, PhD
This study examined the feasibility of group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in children. It looked at the effects of mindfulness in children grades four through six who had difficulty internalizing or externalizing. The children participated in a 12-week mindfulness course, where they were tested upon entry and exit of the course. Using the Child Behavior Checklist, a statistically significant reduction in the total score was found after completing the course. The results weren’t as conclusive when breaking the CBCL down into subcategories, but that may be due to small sample size. Overall, parents and children both rated the mindfulness course highly, leading researchers to believe that it is something that can be used in a group setting for children successfully.

Conduct disorders are prevalent in today’s youth—anywhere from 2% to 10% have been diagnosed. However, there are no approved psychopharmacological drugs for it. This study examines the effects of mindfulness, a meditative treatment option, on conduct disorders in kids. 3 middle school children with diagnosed conduct disorder participated in a 5-week long treatment course, but were asked to keep practicing another 20 weeks after the treatment. Two of the three showed minimal reduction in non-compliant behavior after the initial treatment, but significant reduction following the 20 weeks of practice. This suggests that it may be a useful long-term treatment. However, the students in the study were motivated by the threat of expulsion if they did not change their behavior, suggesting patients must be motivated to want to get better using mindfulness.

Executive function deals with impulse control, concentration, and logic. Poor executive function has been linked to many things, including low academic performance and poor socio-emotional adjustments. This study examines the effects of mindfulness meditation on the executive function of elementary school children. 64 children participated in a course integrated in tho their normal classroom led by their normal teacher. The study found that mindfulness helped most when kids started with below average executive functioning and was not as effective when children had average or above-average EF to start with. This is significant because it was applied in a group-setting (classroom) that is easily replicable. Further research should be done on the long-term effects of mindfulness in these children because sometimes it takes a while for the improvement to set in. Therefore, it may be that it helps average or above-average children as well, even though the data did not show it.